Valentine’s Day is different around the world

Valentine’s Day is celebrated around the world, and it is celebrated in many different ways.

In America, it’s normal to witness oversized teddy bears and enormous bouquets of flowers in the arms of men coming out of general stores in preparation for the day. However, in other countries you will most likely see something very different.

Denmark only recently started celebrating Valentine’s Day, in the 1990s, adding a Danish twist to the popular holiday.

Rather than roses, friends and sweethearts exchange pressed white flowers called snowdrops.

In Denmark the men will also give women a gaekkebrev, “joking letter,” that has a funny poem or letter in it. The paper is cut intricately and signed with anonymous dots.

If the woman guesses the sender correctly, she receives an egg during Easter later that year.

In France, it is common for people to have an event called the “Drawing for Love.”

Here, men are put into one house and women into the other, and their names are called off in pairs to create couples. If someone doesn’t like the person they’re matched with, they can simply leave one person for the other.

The women left unmatched sit at a bonfire later that night and burn pictures of the men who did them wrong.

South Korea is also a lover of Valentine’s Day, celebrating from February to April.

On Feb. 14, women try to woo their sweethearts with candy, chocolates, and flowers.

Tables are turned on March 14, also known as “White Day,” where men not only shower their loved ones in chocolates and flowers but also a gift.

In Italy, people celebrate Valentine’s Day as a spring festival. They gather outside of gardens and read poetry as well as listen to music.

Another tradition on Valentine’s Day is when young, unmarried girls wake up before dawn to spot their future husband. It is said that the first man they see on Valentine’s Day is the man she will marry within a year, or he will at least resemble the man she will marry.

In South Africa, it is customary for women to wear their hearts on their sleeves on Feb. 14. Women pin the names of their love interests onto their shirtsleeves for the day, and this is how the men find out who their secret admirers are.

Valentine’s Day is celebrated by Americans from kindergarten to long after seniority wears out. We learn at a young age to love viciously and not to be afraid of it.

The United States will continue to celebrate with the rest of the world this year and many after.

No matter what it’s called or where it is, love is love.